That was revealed by Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet in a leaked conversation with European Union foreign policy head Catherine Ashton. Estonia confirmed the authenticity of the leaked conversation.

Paet was recently in Kiev, and was shown strong evidence to that effect by the main doctor at the protesters’ mobile camp. Dr. Olga Bogomolets reportedly turned down an offer to be Vice Premier of the new regime.

Ashton expressed considerable surprise at the revelation, saying that she hadn’t heard that before. It is unclear from Paet’s investigation who among the protest leaders may have hired the snipers, but the safe bet is probably the neo-Nazi-styled Right Sector, which has since been courting terrorist leaders for attacks on Russia.

Author: Jason Ditz

38 thoughts on “Ukraine Protest Leaders Hired Kiev Snipers”

This is the Neocon/War Party "soft power" protocol: bankroll, organize, and train the "opposition"; promise them a privileged position in the new government — guns, badges, and a nice, steady paycheck; maneuver behind the scenes to ripen the moment, then call out the "paycheck opposition" for sizable, newsworthy protests — remember the anti-Morsi protests? — and have specially selected provocateurs shoot a few cops — and "protesters" as well — to ramp up the violence. At which point either the brownshirts take over, or the Neocons declare the government a dictatorship headed by corrupt and brutal abusers of their own people, a government which must be overthrown.

We've seen this protocol succeed in and destroy Libya, destroy Syria, be applied unsuccessfully in Iran, and be a work-in-progress in every other country where the leadership resists offering up their people and resources as tribute to the world's neo-liberal oligarchy.

The MSM, now the utterly subservient poodle to the ruling class, faithfully brainwashes that shrinking fraction of Americans who get their "news" only from the TV, WAPO, NYT, et al. But this propaganda shield is being shredded, as more and more people get their info from the internet. The old guard is hanging on, but we the world is unalterable embarked on a new ***political*** era thanks to the internet information revolution.

On at least two different occasions Kerry stated that the USA had invested over $5 billion to the rebel movement (prior to the installation of the present illegal government). I was wondering what that amount of money could be spent on, other than Swiss bank accounts? Snipers who will murder their own citizens must come at a high price.

Also remember it was applied SUCCESSFULLY in Iran in 1953 – same tactics. USA hired provacateurs and used them to carry out false flags, and succeeded in destroying Iran's fledgling democracy and installing a US compliant terror king to absolute power.

Exactly like in Venezuela and exactly like in Iran, which is why I believe their suspicions were well-founded. The Neocons have one script that they use, and the American public is fooled every single time.

Usually I would agree at least in some cases but it was reported that Ukrainians with joint Israeli-Ukrainian citizenship funded by an Ukrainian-Israeli oligarch in Israel were part of the armed groups in Kiev and have had a sizable influence in Ukraine and Russia since the collapse of the USSR although most of the state controlled oligarchical control of Russia government sectors had been re-established under Putin unlike in Ukraine that is controlled by different oligarchs with different alliances depending on the situation.

You might want to crack open the Bible and actually read the Barabbas story.

The Romans gave the crowd a choice of whether Jesus ("the rabbi") or Barabbas (Bar Abbas, "the rabbi's son") would be spared execution for rebellion against Rome.

Apparently the crowd felt that the continuance of Jesus' royal Davidic bloodline was more important than the instant survival of Jesus' person.

But either way, it was still the Romans, not the Jews, who killed Jesus.

And there were no "Zionists" at the time, since Zionism is about a Jewish return to Israel and at the time the Jews were still IN Israel. So if you're going to whine about the Jews, at least have the guts to do it openly instead of in code.

KnaPP–It was the Jews that forced the Romans to kill Jesus(what ever his real name is).
For what reason? Jesus was cutting into the Jews religious business.
By the way–today's Jews are not Semitic. A European Cult gone bad. Real biblical Jews are the Palestians. Enough Said :^(

If "the Jews" (specifically the Sanhedrin) had wanted to kill Jesus, they could have done so themselves by prescribing stoning to death for blasphemy.

Jesus was killed by the Romans, in the manner prescribed exclusively and only for those convicted of rebellion against Rome — a crime he was clearly guilty of, having associated himself with several Zealot military leaders (Peter, Judas et. al), entered Jerusalem openly as a claimant to the throne and ordered his followers to arm themselves.

And Jew-haters like you have been trying to change the story ever since. But it won't get changed here.

My Bible said after Pilate washed his hands and declared that he would not be responsible for the death of an innocent man, the Jews yelled "let his blood be on us and our children" then they mocked him, took off his robe, flogged him and led him away to be crucified.

You're gonna have to 'rewrite' a lot of Bibles, in order to change that narrative.

Actually, no, the leaked phone call does not offer any proof, the snipers were hired by the opposition. The parties discuss the possibility — and how bad it would be, if the rumors to the effect begin circulating — but neither side confirms, the rumors to be true. Quite the contrary…

No not quite, the Estonian Foreign Minster said there were rumors but also he discussed with the chief medical examiner for the protesters (who had declined a post in the new government) about the same bullets being used to kill protesters and the police. Take that for what you will but coupled with the fact that there was no investigation into the shooting and with how quickly the new Ukrainian Parliament voted to indict Yanukovych in the ICC makes it very suspicious.

There was no logical reason for Yanukovych to order the shooting of protesters after three months and after he had accepted a deal to keep himself in power. To what end would it have served? On the other hand some in the protest movement had great incentive (cabinet posts) to spark a riot to force Yanukovych from power.

William Engdhal recently wrote an article which explains the snipers, you can find it in Pepe Escobar's article in the Asia Times – more than one person are saying the same thing. And while we are at it I wonder what AIPEC thinks of the US position supporting the group wishing to kill jews.

However, the good doctor stated flatly that casualties were on both sides and she believes shot by the same people, whoever they might be. Now, does it make sense this was on Yanukovych's orders after he had restrained his police for months in the face of violent Molotov cocktail throwing demonstrators? He quite suddenly had his security forces start indiscriminately shooting and killing people on BOTH sides? Really?

Duh, did you check this against the reaction of the criminals in NATO and Washington? The rection that instantaneously blamed Kiev for the violence? That did not give you any clue, clueless? Phuleeeeeze, grow a brain cell or two.

I have no idea where you get your information from. But in the phone conversation it was stated by Estonian FM that the coalition did it, not Yanukovic. The phone conversations generally do not have, for our convenience, all the details. I am sure, based on what he said — he was VERY sure. The rest should be investigated — but he is saying in the same conversation, that the ruling coalition DOES NOT WANT INVESTIGATION. Now, there are several photos by various media taking pictures of snipers with rifles. They were in the positions on barricade occupied by Right Sector or Trident. They are clearly visible, and given the location these people with rifles were, no police in or out of uniform was present. Who knows, there may be a witness too, somebody is talking. Such clarity would not be possible without proof. The language he used does not leave anything for spinning.

I guess you decided that russian propaganda was good enough, but I would rather you just use critical thinking. The doctor they discussed concerning the rumors has gone on record as stating that she never examined both sides, so right off the bat you should know this is false.

"The enemy if my enemy is my friend", in Syria the supplied mercenaries by Saudis are the one doing the harm, yet they are supported by USG, in Libya it is the same mercenaries supplied by the tyrant regimes in Middle East, yet they are supported by USG and EU governing body, in Ukraine the supply of Neo, old and ok'd fascism by Growing European fascism, yet they are supported by USG and EU governing body.

Yesterday Hillary Clinton compared Ukraine and president Putin with hitler when hitler under the pretext of "Germans minority being harmed" in countries where hitler invaded. Making story short, Neo liberal fascism still lying as before no matter how wrong and deceitful they are in their act against humanity.

Isn't it interesting the way John Kerry, in that authoritative/authoritarian drawl, that Boston Strong voice, told us that the snipers had come from the now-deposed government of Yanukovich? He was so sure. He had to make believe that the coup was legitimate and that Putin had his knickers in a twist over nothing, and he continues that line.

I have been reading some interesting observations about his role and that of the State Department as operating independently of Obama, who apparently is trying to keep channels open with Putin. I don't know exactly whether this is true or not. One thing I do know, the neocons are still at the heart of power and they do not want to let go. Must be something in it for them of perhaps a pay-off nature.

Not sure why Antiwar.com wants to promote this nonsense. There is absolutely no proof that protest leaders hired snipers, and plenty of proof, including video, that the snipers worked closely with and are members of the police forces. Why does Antiwar.com support certain brutal regimes and condemn others? In your zeal to portray the U.S. as evil you sometimes miss the evil in all nations.

There's an online Russian language YouTube video which shows the shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Maidan Square. They are blindsided while moving with shields covering them from potential fire from government buildings and the argument of the text on it is that the same videographer direction is that of the sniper fire. In other words, the videographer seems to be spotting what the sniper is spotting as well, as though they are working in tandem, from a hotel which the protesters occupied. That is the argument.

Many of us see what is done to nations and we know that the tactics work to bring down nations; Now stop and think of what goes on in our own nations as groups form, disolve or soon original members are shunted aside for and by newer members.
We kill the messengers not always with a gun; that is last resort when chemical or drug induced means are slso used; and soon we see leadrrs laying politics at the expense of groups original ideas.
One paid informant can utterly destroy unit cohesion or plant evidence and destroy groups credability.
Just as in US when public awakened to fact their goverrnent was hiding the facts behind being poisonefd by radiation all of a sudden their small volunteer groupings got swamped and the new ones pushed aside the old originals.
oups data collection sites either came undrt attack ad be rum by idipts and not trained scientist or offers to right individuals to become paid partners drove out the grass
oots peoples.
THhe ones who kill for money sre not sny worsr than those who fimance tje killings.

A deputy (Sergei Pashinsky) from Yulia Tymoshenko's party was caught with a sniper rifle in his trunk on February 20, and there is video on YouTube of this incident. This could identify which faction hired the snipers, and it is coincidentally the same faction favored in the leaked conversation with Victoria Nuland.

Wisconsin Gov. Walker was caught discussing on the radio (not realizing it was broadcast) the use of agent to commit provocations among those protesting his union busting. No, he didn't discuss killing anybody, but the provocation idea is mainstream among our right winger.

If you're going to run a headline that reads, "Ukraine Protest Leaders Hired Kiev Snipers," you sure as he'll better have more evidence than, "one official mentioned rumors to that effect on the phone." This is really pathetic and disappointing. I'm a long time reader of this site, but your coverage of the crisis in the Ukraine has sucked balls.

There has from the start, in US opinion about the protests, been "done deal" written all over this. No judicious weighing of rights and wrongs, total ignoring of prior agreements about Crimea in which the Russian Black Sea fleet has long tenure. Who is really ignoring treaties and international law?

What else has Ukraine and Venezuela in common? "Ukraine: Unexpected Oil Find, Major Gas Interest"
"

Bottom Line: We see a flurry of activity in Ukraine, with a $735 million Black Sea commitment by Exxon, an unexpected 100 million barrel oil find in the Poltava region and new estimates that the country could achieve annual gas production of 45 billion cubic meters by 2020.

Analysis: First, Ukraine’s state-run oil and gas company Naftogaz on 11 July announced the discovery of an oil field in the eastern/central Poltava region that reportedly contains some 13 million tons of oil, or 100 million barrels of oil. This is the biggest oil find in Ukraine in a decade and a half. The Budishchansko-Chutovskoye oil field is fully owned by Naftogaz, and is the only field fully owned by the state-run company.

The news for Ukraine gets even better this week, though. Exxon Mobil Corp is ready to invest $735 million to drill two deep-water wells offshore Ukraine in the Black Sea ($335 million in a signing bonus for the government and a $400 million commitment for seismic surveys and drilling). This is an amazing show of confidence by Exxon in Ukraine’s Black Sea.

Finally, ExxonMobil has given Ukraine another public boost with a new estimate that the country’s onshore and offshore gas reserves could help it reach production of 45 billion cubic meters by 2020.

Recommendation: We suggest very closely monitoring Exxon’s progress as it prepares to explore in Ukraine’s Black Sea, in the deep marine Skifiske gas field. (Right… "

If true, that's got to be some protest movement you've managed to join when your fellow protestors are assassinating you. I thought we were all this together – splat. I guess the moral of the story is: don't lie down with N@zi$